May 12, 2003 By Richard Krause For The 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – With Mother’s Day as a backdrop, 525 Waynesburg College students received diplomas, marking the largest graduating class in the school’s 153-year history. Students from undergraduate and graduate programs received degrees. Last year, more than 450 students graduated from the college. The Rev. Wintley Phipps, founder and president of the U.S. Dream Academy, delivered an impassioned commencement address that asked students to realize the power of a dream.

“I encourage you to harness the power in your dreams,” Phipps said. “Don’t let anyone derail your dreams. You are an unique expression of a divine idea.”

He added, “Your degree is a passport to your destiny. Find the right destiny for which, you too, were born. You are about to embark upon the most awesome adventure of your life.”

Phipps cited those who had inspired him, Sir Winston Churchill and Dr. Martin Luther King, for their inspiration in his own dreams. “I am living the dream that God has dreamed for me,” Phipps said. “You must find your dream and live it.”

In addition to his commencement address, Phipps delivered a stirring rendition of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” Phipps has performed before five U.S. presidents as well as Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. President Timothy R. Thyreen described Phipps as “one of the most talented voices in our country.”

In his valedictory to the graduating class, Thyreen challenged students to live the life of a Waynesburg graduate. “In your education, you have received everything that you need to make a difference in the world. You must bring distinction to yourself, to your family and to Waynesburg College.”

Representing the graduating class were valedictorians Christina Barnhart, a business administration student from Waynesburg and Paula Sandusky, a biology student from Johnstown. Richard Ong, director of information systems at Pittsburgh Mercy Hospital, represented the master’s degree graduates.

Thyreen conferred honorary degrees on two speakers who participated in the commencement activities. Thyreen presented a doctor of humane letters to the Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes, the Meneilly Professor of Leadership and Ministry at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and to Phipps.

Vice president for academic affairs Dr. Richard Stanislaw announced the recipients of the Lucas-Hathaway Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Awards. Dr. Donald Helms, professor of psychology, and Dr. James Bush, associate professor of mathematics, were recognized for outstanding teaching and service to the college.

Earlier in the day, the college held its baccalaureate service with Rev. Barnes delivering the sermon. Barnes challenged students to “find the right question.”

Barnes, who served as the senior pastor for the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., said, “We no longer look to our families and our communities to tell us whom we are. We look to ourselves, and we ask the question ‘What do I want to become?’ Life is not something you construct; it’s something you receive. Find the courage to answer the most important question of all. Do you love Jesus?”